Why cryptocurrencies are here to stay December 21, 2018 If common perception is to be believed, we’re currently watching the death of cryptocurrencies. Without doubt, there is cause for some concern. This year has been terrible for speculators, with a deeply entrenched bear market taking hold, and the price of bitcoin falling by around 80 per cent. The year also hasn’t resulted in the envisaged uptake [...]
Competition watchdog launches probe into Ebay’s acquisition of Motors.co.uk December 11, 2018 Ebay's proposed acquisition of car search business Motors.co.uk is to undergo an investigation by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), it was announced this morning. The CMA said it is considering whether the move, which would see Ebay merge Motors.co.uk with its other consumer-facing business Gumtree Motors, may result in a "substantial lessening" of competition [...]
Support your local small business all year, otherwise it might not stick around December 3, 2018 American Express’s Small Business Saturday last weekend saw a call to arms to encourage us to shop locally and support small businesses. Since its launch in 2010, this annual event now reaches millions of people across the US, UK and Australia, helping independent retailers get their share of the Christmas spending frenzy. Small Business Saturday [...]
Black Friday transactions jump 10 per cent on 2017, according to Barclaycard data November 24, 2018 The number of transactions on Black Friday jumped ten per cent year-on-year but the amount spent plummeted compared to 2017, according to credit card data. Consumers spent 12 per cent less while shopping using Barclaycard yesterday compared to Black Friday the previous year. Barclaycard processed an all-time record number of transactions yesterday, hitting 1,087 transactions a [...]
The hidden meanings behind the Q&A November 16, 2018 You've finished your presentation. You remembered to look at the audience, rather than at the massive screen behind you, so it actually seemed like a presentation rather than a modern corporate version of temple worship. You didn’t just read out the slide deck, so no one is wondering why you bothered with a presentation at [...]
Hammond’s digital tax is an illogical game of whack-a-mole November 7, 2018 The introduction of a new digital services tax was the most depressingly inevitable part of Philip Hammond’s Budget speech last week. Years of pressure from a pincer movement of corporate tax moralists and traditional retailers have paid off. Starting in April 2020, profitable digital businesses with £500m in global revenues would face a two per cent [...]
Ebay predicts fourth quarter surge in profits October 30, 2018 E-commerce giant Ebay forecasted a rise in fourth quarter profits above analyst estimates tonight, despite its rival Amazon announcing last week that its profits will disappoint across the upcoming holiday period. Shares in Ebay, which also beat estimates on profit for its third quarter, rose six per cent in after-hours trading. Net income for the [...]
A luddite levy on online shopping won’t help the high street October 23, 2018 Time and time again over the past few months, we’ve heard prominent figures in the retail world call for a special sales tax on online companies to help prop up their struggling sector, from the Tesco chief executive Dave Lewis, to the New West End Company that represents Selfridges and Marks & Spencer. Chancellor Philip [...]
Ebay snaps up Motors.co.uk as it races Autotrader for car dealerships’ spending budgets October 19, 2018 Bidding platform Ebay is set to acquire car search site Motors.co.uk as it takes on Autotrader. The online shopping giant will buy the website from current owner Cox Automotive for an undisclosed sum, Cox said today. Read more: MPs urge government to ban diesel and petrol cars by 2032 Ebay plans to fold the website [...]
Ebay hit with £7m extra UK tax bill after a review by HMRC October 11, 2018 E-commerce auction site Ebay’s UK office paid out an additional £7m in owed corporate taxes last year, after the closure of a review by HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC). In accounts published yesterday, Ebay UK paid a total of £13.5m in tax in 2017, £6m of which was for last year alone, on profits of [...]